Middle Ages

Vassal

(n.) a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance

Charlemagne

800 AD crowned by the Pope as the head of the Holy Roman Empire.

Longboat

A boat with a shallow bow and a trademark dragon or scary face on the tip of the ship that was used by the Vikings.

Monk

A man who devotes his life to a religious group, often giving up all he owns.

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

Crusades

A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

Bayeux Tapestry

A tapestry that recounts the Battle of Hastings, A piece of linen about 1 Ft.8 in. Wide by 213 ft.long covered with embroidery representing the incidents of William the conqueror's expedition to England.

Middle Ages

Also known as the medieval period, the time between the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD and the beginning of the Renaissance in the fourteenth century.

Holy Roman Empire

An empire established in Europe in the 10th century A.D., originally consisting mainly of lands in what is now Germany and Italy

Fealty Oath

An oath of loyalty, a vassal promised loyalty and military service to the lord.

Pope

Head of the Roman Catholic Church

Lord

In feudal Europe, a person who controlled land and could therefore grant estates to vassals

Manor

In medieval Europe, a large, self-sufficient landholding consisting of the lord's residence (manor house), outbuildings, peasant village, and surrounding land.

Vikings

Invaders of Europe that came from Scandinavia

Pope Urban II

Leader of the Roman Catholic Church who asked European Christians to take up arms against Muslims, starting the Crusades

Coat of Arms

Personal symbols on banners and shields for a knight, which became hereditary

Excommunication

When a person is banned from the church by the pope or Patriarch

Serfs

Workers who were tied to the land on which they lived

Knight

a man, usually of noble birth, who after an apprenticeship as page and squire was raised to honorable military rank and bound to chivalrous conduct

Bubonic Plague

disease brought to Europe during the Middle Ages. It killed 1/3 of the population and helps end Feudalism. Rats, fleas.

Fief

land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service

Peasants

people who worked the land or served the nobles

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215